How do you address an issue of odor?

Kerry · December 2002

I have an employee who has cancer and has had several surgeries. She has a almost decaying type of odor that emanates from her. I am not certain but believe she has a colostomy. It is incredibly offensive and although not an issue every day or even part of every day, just following her can nearly knock you off your feet. She doesn't seem to be aware of it. How do I address this without offending her?

SandiF · December 2002

This is always a difficult one. I think you talk to her one on one and as gently as possible explain the situation. If she doesn't realize that she has this problem, she may be grateful that you brought it to her attention. I might also say that since I noticed the odor, that perhaps some of her co-workers had too, and I wanted to bring this to her attention to spare her further embarrassment. I'm sure other forum members have some good ideas.

This is a very tough one. Good luck

Paul in Cannon Beach · December 2002

If the odor is as bad as you have described, simply ignoring the issue is not going to work. I think you need to have a discussion with the employee and her supervisor.

Be understanding and gentle. Seek some face saving solutions. Explain that almost everyone at some time in their life has to address these types of issues.

Don't do anything that might emberass her. Be very discrete. I have had a couple of these discussions and they are no fun. In one situation, the person simply did not bathe. She had to be removed from our food service department because I felt she was represented a sanitation problem. It was not an enjoyable discussion despite how hard I tried to be gentle.

A follow up post would be appreciated.

LindaS · December 2002

I have run into this before as well, although the issue usually has been a failure on the part of the employee to practice good personal hygiene. What I have done as a first step is to send a letter (I have a generic letter that I send) to the employee's home address. This saves the employee the embarassment of a face to face meeting and usually takes care of the situation. This letter does not address any potential reasons for the odoe but makes the employee aware of the problem. If that does not work, then I sit down with the employee, in private, and address the situation. I try to do this a gently as possible without making any assumptions regarding the reasons for the odor. This meeting will usually take care of the problem at that point since I have not had to go any further.

I hope this helps. If you want a copy of the letter please let me know and I will email it to you.

gabesmith · December 2002

Linda,

I would love a copy of the letter you send to an employee's home. I am currently being faced with this problem. A very overweight female employee that comes in contact with students has very bad body odor. A number of students have complained as well as coworkers. I need to speak to this employee, but have never done it before. I like the idea of sending a letter and sparing myself and the employee an embarassing face to face meeting.

Thank you,

Gabe

Rockie · December 2002

This is a very common problem with people who have cancer. It comes from a combination of the cancer and the treatments they undergo. Also, the colostomy (if this is the case) could certainly be an issue if not properly cared for.

Couple of suggestions:

(1) You may want to call an oncologist's office and just be frank about the problem and ask if there are any suggestions you could make to the employee.

(2) In this case, I would talk with the employee face to face as this is an extremely sensitive subject. Not just a case of poor hygiene, laziness, etc., but this is a bona fide medical condition. Something like: "Mary, I don't like bringing up this subject, but it it were me, I would appreciate someone telling me. Several people, including myself, have noticed a distinct and unpleasant body odor coming from you. I realize you have had medical issues and this may be the cause of it. If so, I would like to offer you some suggestions (then go into whatever the doctor might have suggested).

In the best case, this won't be pleasant to bring up, but the poor woman probably does not realize it and will appreciate being told.

Good luck!

How do you address an issue of odor?

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